William Blair Comments on Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.’s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:CMG)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) – Research analysts at William Blair boosted their Q1 2024 EPS estimates for Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report issued on Tuesday, April 16th. William Blair analyst S. Zackfia now expects that the restaurant operator will earn $12.19 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $11.47. The consensus estimate for Chipotle Mexican Grill’s current full-year earnings is $53.41 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Chipotle Mexican Grill’s Q2 2024 earnings at $14.65 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $13.40 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $12.68 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $52.92 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $65.62 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,700.00 to $3,270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,750.00 to $3,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,900.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $3,265.00 to $3,366.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,750.00 to $3,250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,759.14.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

CMG opened at $2,907.97 on Thursday. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a one year low of $1,768.64 and a one year high of $3,023.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2,778.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2,378.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.28.

Chipotle Mexican Grill shares are scheduled to split before the market opens on Wednesday, June 26th. The 50-1 split was announced on Tuesday, March 19th. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, June 25th.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The restaurant operator reported $10.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.73 by $0.63. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.29 earnings per share. Chipotle Mexican Grill’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christopher W. Brandt sold 3,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,927.84, for a total transaction of $9,219,768.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,563 shares in the company, valued at $25,071,093.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Christopher W. Brandt sold 3,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,927.84, for a total transaction of $9,219,768.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,563 shares in the company, valued at $25,071,093.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,399.91, for a total transaction of $4,790,220.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,447 shares in the company, valued at $53,870,779.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,793 shares of company stock worth $18,321,152. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the fourth quarter valued at $805,529,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 220,249.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 301,879 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,903,850,000 after purchasing an additional 301,742 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the fourth quarter valued at $248,604,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 65.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 375,736 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $521,332,000 after purchasing an additional 149,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 41.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 397,182 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $727,570,000 after purchasing an additional 116,723 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.31% of the company’s stock.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. It sells food and beverages through offering burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. The company also provides delivery and related services its app and website. It has operations in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.